With the world focused on the suspected use of chemical weapons in Syria, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi reiterated to leaders attending the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia the need to "push even harder" for a political solution to end the civil war. Addressing world leaders Thursday night, Ban urged officials from the permanent five members of the Security Council-the United States, China, France, Britain, and Russia-as well as from some of the council's non-permanent members, to "discharge their responsibility fully and for the sake of the people of Syria." The U.N. chief reminded the Security Council members that they have a "collective responsibility to mankind" to act, but he reiterated that as they debate plans, any decision "should be taken within the framework of the U.N. Charter." Ban also asked the leaders to fill the nearly $4.4 billion gap for humanitarian and refugee efforts in Syria and neighboring countries. The secretary-general said he had asked Brahimi to join him in Russia to urge the early convening of an international meeting on Syria to be hold in Geneva with participation of senior U.N., U.S., and Russian officials.
